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The Telangana government on Thursday announced the setting up of a multi-industry supported innovation and technology hub for flow chemistry in Hyderabad, to ensure greater incorporation of its techniques during pharma R&D and greater adoption of continuous synthesis for manufacturing of active pharma ingredients (APIs).

A consortium agreement for setting up the centre of excellence on flow chemistry was signed in the presence of Industries Minister K.T Rama Rao and Secretary Jayesh Ranjan.

Dr Reddy's Laboratories Ltd Co-Chairman and Managing Director G.V. Prasad, Laurus Labs CEO Dr Satyanarayana Chava, Director, Life Sciences & Pharma and Chief Executive Officer, Hyderabad Pharma City, Shakthi Nagappan, and Dr Reddy's Institute of Life Sciences Director Dr Srinivas Oruganti signed the agreement.

This hub would function as a Center of Excellence (CoE) and is being set-up at Dr Reddy's Institute of Life Sciences, a research institute of global eminence, and will receive funding and patronage from Dr Reddy's Laboratories Ltd and Laurus Labs.

Research activities at the CoE will benefit from the scientific mentorship and support from world-renowned scientists like Prof Goverdhan Mehta (University of Hyderabad) and international advisors such as Prof Steven Ley (University of Cambridge, UK), Prof Oliver Kappe (University of Graz, Austria), and Prof Shu Kobayashi (University of Tokyo).

The Telangana government will facilitate strategic support and scale up for the hub by encouraging more industries join the consortium and benefit from it.

K.T. Rama Rao said that this hub would be an enabler for the pharma industry in India to make a paradigm shift towards incorporation of modern approaches from R&D to manufacturing and migration to greener and sustainable processes.

"We remain committed to the growth of life sciences sector and consolidating our leadership position. Government of Telangana jointly with DRILS has envisaged establishment of this hub to support pharma companies in the city build scientific capabilities, support process development and also training," said Jayesh Ranjan.

Nagappan said that CoE is another milestone in accelerating the growth of Life Sciences sector in the state. This is part of the larger effort of the state become the $100 billion life sciences ecosystem by 2030.

Prasad said they were happy to participate in this collaborative effort spearheaded by the Telangana government to bring the latest technologies in flow chemistry to the API and intermediate industry and to the state. "As an early adopter of sustainability as a core value, we look forward to contributing to the creation of deep local expertise in sustainable and green manufacturing processes."

Hyderabad is regarded as the life sciences capital of India and an important life sciences hub in Asia-Pacific. With over 800 pharmaceutical companies, the city hosts the highest number of USFDA approved facilities globally and contributes to about 35 per cent of India's overall pharmaceutical production.